Bogey-free De Jager cherishing Mauritius moment

Louis de Jager. shares the lead after round three at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. Photo: Sunshine Tour

South Africa’s Louis de Jager joined the lead of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open on Saturday as he fired a bogey-free four-under-par 67 at Heritage Golf Club in difficult gusting winds.

He joined the man who led for two rounds, India’s Arjun Atwal, on a total of 13-under-par. That out the duo one ahead of the looming threat posed by the in-form South African Dylan Frittelli and Miguel Tibuena of the Philippines.

“I’m very pleased with my efforts,” said De Jager, who last made a bogey on the 13th hole in the second round. “It was really tough out there today. The wind was very strong and there were some good pin positions, so I’m really pleased with the score.”

With the wind gusting as strongly as it was, the three-time Sunshine Tour winner certainly had cause to be pleased, as Atwal, who set a course-record 62 in the opening round, dropped shots on the fourth and the 18th to let De Jager join him in front of the field.

“It’s always a goal to keep bogeys off the card,” said De Jager. “You know you can hit good shots and still make bogey, so when there are none on the card, it’s really pleasing.

“I felt really composed. I was quite cool and calm out there. I didn’t hit the ball as well as the first two days but my short game really saved me today, and my putter really saved me inside the eight-foot range. I made a few crucial putts that really kept me in the tournament.”

While De Jager’s four-under was impressive, a trio of South Africans, who started earlier in the day in conditions a little more benign, reeled off five-under-par 67s. Doug McGuigan, Jean-Paul Strydom and Haydn Porteous all moved to seven-under for the tournament, and while that may be a little far back from the lead, they will look to repeat the dose in the final round.

Frittelli, however, is within one of the lead after his 68, even though he too had his battles with the wind. “I probably had eight or 10 putts where I read the putts perfectly then had to adjust for the wind,” he said. “I thought the wind was going to hit it and most of the time it didn’t, so it was a bit tricky there. I think tomorrow I’ll try to hit it a bit closer and make it easier for the putter.”

Tibuena found the wind made the course too tight for him to use his driver as much as he would have liked on his way to a level-par 71. “It looked easy but it really isn’t,” he said. “There are holes which can bite you. I didn’t take advantage of the par fives and I’m not happy about that.”

For De Jager, in a share of the lead going into the final round of a 72-hole event for the first time, his final round is going to be about drinking in the experience. “It’s going to be my first time in the final group in a co-sanctioned tournament,” he said. “I’m going to cherish the moment. I’m looking forward to it and I’m going to go out there and give it my all.”